Texans' Foster returns to practice with humor intact

Life of the partyIt’s all fun and games to Arian Foster, but his teammates enjoy his humor even more now that he’s practicing again

JEFFREY MARTIN , Copyright 2011 Houston Chronicle

Published 5:30 am, Thursday, August 18, 2011

Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle

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Texans running back Arian Foster smiles as he takes a break during practice.

Texans running back Arian Foster smiles as he takes a break during practice.

Photo: Brett Coomer, Chronicle

Texans' Foster returns to practice with humor intact

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If there was concern regarding Arian Foster's mindset, specifically whether the previous 10 days he'd spent nursing a nagging hamstring injury had any lingering mental effect on the Texans running back, it was alleviated after Wednesday's morning practice.

Asked how many repetitions he might need should he start Saturday against New Orleans, Foster immediately replied, "62."

Um, 62? Really?

"It's a science, man," he said. "It's a science."

Face it — football, especially Texans football, is more fun with Foster around. Even with a crowded stable at the position, it's not easy to replace the NFL's leading rusher.

Count Gary Kubiak among those relieved to see No. 23 back - with fresh legs, to boot.

"I thought he looked good," Kubiak said. "We told him to be smart when he came out here today. It looked like he was fine, so hopefully every day's a progression and we work toward Saturday night. It's a good step in the right direction."

Foster, who estimated he's at 100 percent, never allowed himself to cut it completely loose Wednesday because "there's no need to."

"You don't want to come out here and try to prove anything," Foster said. "About 70 percent of hamstring problems are recurring … because people try to come out too fast because they feel good."

He yearned to cut and run around again, but there was something else.

It's what caused Derrick Ward, who didn't work Wednesday because he was dealing with the aftermath of a concussion suffered Monday against the New York Jets, to smile and shake his head.

Hands like glue

It took only a few minutes for Ward to loudly proclaim Foster - in some not-so-obvious ways - was back to normal, a claim to which Foster objected.

"I was still out here joking," he said, referring to the previous 10 days. "I was just more subtle."

Later, as a JUGS machine spit out footballs, Foster spit trash to a captive audience that included wide receivers Andre Johnson and Jacoby Jones and tight end Owen Daniels, all of whom were, by the way, wearing gloves.

Huge mistake. Foster was not, and when he took his turn in front of the JUGS, the verbal barrage began.

"Take the gloves off, man," he said, addressing no one in particular. "I've got that natural adhesive."

Biletnikoff, of course, was known for the copious amount of artificial adhesive he applied to his bare mitts, permitting the former Oakland wide receiver to catch everything within sight. But historical accuracy wasn't Foster's goal - levity was, and sure enough, laughter ensued.

"You miss the camaraderie more than anything," he said. "There's a certain amount of respect guys garnish for each other being out here, sweating together, being tired together and going through that same mental and physical grind. You can't replace that.

"That's where you get your respect in this league - in training camp, the 17 weeks of the season … the camaraderie built in through the process."

No. 1 in fantasy land

Foster was asked how it felt to be setting fantasy football owners at ease with his return to practice. Last week, in the Texans' cafeteria, a couple of the televisions were tuned to NFL Network, which was airing a special on that very topic.

Lo and behold, Foster, undrafted out of Tennessee in 2009, was listed as the No. 1 choice this year. From across the room, someone bellowed, "What kind of world do we live in when Arian Foster is No. 1?"